


Live from New York

by written_you_down



Series: nostalgic. [4]
Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24661054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/written_you_down/pseuds/written_you_down
Summary: It’s Saturday night and Dan is running through red lights.
Relationships: Kyle Simmons/Dan Smith
Series: nostalgic. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754833
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Live from New York

Dan feels the performance looming ahead in the future. 

Every morning he wakes, it’s one day closer. He still hasn’t gotten used to playing on television, he isn’t sure how he ever will. His brain isn’t wired to accept the idea that so many sets of eyes are observing his actions, so many ears are listening to the words that fall out of his head and into songs. It’s wonderful to think about on some levels, that there are people who seem to genuinely like his music, his voice, his thoughts, but it’s hard to think directly about it. It’s too much, it’s too heavy, it’s too fucking bizarre. For now, in an attempt to remain semi-functional, his songs serve as an outlet for him. A place to rid himself of the stories that continually bounce around his mind and drive him mad until he scribbles them down. 

When they booked the show, it didn’t seem real which made it easier to bury it out of sight. They were in the middle of America, halfway through their first headlining tour of the States. Each day was full of bus rides, new cities, radio stations and interviews. It made it almost possible for Dan to avoid thinking about how they were playing Saturday Night Live. To forget that the label had all but insisted that he sing the most vocally challenging song on the album, claiming that the new single had the most to gain from the exposure. Dan was inclined to agree with that on a rational level, but wondered how much traction the song would get if he botched it and destroyed it on the telly. 

So when Dan woke in NYC, four days prior to the show with a headache, a stuffy nose and a voice that croaked like a frog, he wasn’t even that surprised, really. 

Live from New York, it’s Dan’s completely fucked up immune system, right on cue. 

—

“There are loads of things worse than being on vocal rest.” Kyle and Dan are cutting through the city, attempting to navigate their way through the ever present crowd in Times Square. “It’s sort of like you’re Ariel… you know, The Little Mermaid,” Kyle chattered. “Obviously, it’s after you’ve made that deal with Ursula to trade your pipes for legs in order to make Prince Eric fall in love with you. I mean, sure you can’t speak, but you can still do tons of things. You can still go on gondola rides in the sunset. It’s not all bad.” 

He paused long enough to gauge Dan’s reaction. Kyle was pleased to see Dan not looking depressed or worried as he had been over the past couple of days, but instead giving Kyle a perfectly executed side eye. “Ah, fantastic. I can tell by the look you’re giving me that you completely agree. I thought as much, you really can’t—“

Kyle came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk and Dan not expecting it, bumped into him. Dan tapped his hand against Kyle’s arm and tried to get Kyle’s attention, but found that Kyle was staring up. Dan followed Kyle’s sightline, looked up and on the digital billboards, there they were. Stretched over stories of buildings, there was a picture of the band along with the date of their performance in two days time. He grabbed Kyle’s arm and tried to move him from the center of the sidewalk. Once they were reasonably out of the way, Kyle pulled out his phone to take a picture of the sign.

Kyle laughed in a bit of wonder, “Those are our bodies on the billboard, can you believe it?” 

Something clicked in Dan’s brain and he mumbled hoarsely, “with our lives underneath them.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “It’s a fine line isn’t it? Between being considered a mad man or being considered a poet?” He turned his phone towards Dan. “I’m filming, by the way. So I expect full credits on your smash single about billboards. And not another word from you today, Ariel.”

Dan cheerfully raised a middle finger for Kyle’s video.

—

It was Saturday just after lunch and the band was scattered across the back row of the small studio where the show took place. They were due to run through their songs but were waiting their turn for the stage as a group of actors worked through the blocking for a sketch. 

Suddenly the energy in the room seemed to lift as another actor walked across the studio before disappearing to the side of the stage.

“Did you see him?” Will asked excitedly.

Kyle looked at him cautiously, “see who?”

“Leonardo Di-fucking-caprio, that’s who. He’s here and he’s so beautiful.” Will was swooning and Kyle couldn’t determine how much of it was an act and how much was the actual truth. It was a ratio he often had trouble deciphering with Will. Accessing it now, he thought it was probably 90 percent truth because Will seemed giddy. “I wonder if I can somehow manage to hug him?” Will pondered. 

“Not two seconds ago, you were going on about how nervous you were and now look at you, president of the DiCaprio fangirl club,” Woody smirked. 

“No need to be so judgmental, Woody. We all process things in our own unique ways.” He glanced at the stage again. “Who can be fussed about playing the songs we’ve done a million times before when Leo is here?”

“Well, me for one,” Dan spoke up. They were a bit startled to hear him speak, having grown accustomed to his silence over the past few days.

Kyle smiled. “Your voice! You sound like you again.”

“Does that mean you’ll finally stop serenading him with Disney tunes?” Woody snarked.

Kyle glanced at Woody, “Don’t be jealous, mate. You can be a Disney princess as well. With those locks of yours, you’re well on your way to Rapunzel status.” He turned, placed a hand on Dan’s forearm and said with mock seriousness “Don’t worry, I will never stop serenading you.”

Dan’s eyes flitted from Kyle to the stage, where the crew was currently loading the instruments for their rehearsal. “While that is a great relief, can we please for once, focus on the task at hand? There will be time for princesses and Leonardo DiCaprio after we get through this show.” He rose from his chair and made his way towards the stage.

Will sighed and slowly stood, still glancing to the left of the stage where the actor was last seen. “Dan always promises us Leo and Disney after gigs, but how many times has that actually happened?” 

Dan raised his voice and used what the rest of the group collectively regarded as his Dad tone, “For the love of…. Come take your places, already.”

Kyle and Woody both laughed as they made their way to the front of the studio. Surreal as everything currently was, knowing that Dan’s voice was back made all of it seem a bit more surmountable.

—

It’s late even by their standards, when Kyle and Dan leave the bar, in the early hours of Sunday. It’s bloody freezing and the wind is frigid against their faces as the door slams shut behind them. “Fuuuuck,” Dan exclaimed as a gust seemed to somehow sneak down his scarf and slide against his neck.

Kyle laughed because what else can one do when faced with Arctic-Circle-esque cold? “Sounds as if your voice is well on its way back.” Seeing Dan wrinkle his nose in response, he added, “It’s a short walk, chin up.” 

Dan moved closer to Kyle as they walked. “So the show…. it wasn’t a total disaster, was it? I know the audience wasn’t exactly into it, but it went well enough, yeah?”

“It was brilliant watching you bounce around the stage wearing an old man jumper while in front of actual old men,” Kyle snorted as Dan threw an elbow into his side in retaliation. “I do think Oblivion was much more to their speed.”

“My hands were a shaky mess towards the end there,” Dan admitted. “Could you tell?”

“From across the stage?” Kyle smiled. 

“You know what I mean.”

“I knew you were nervous, but only because… because I know you.” Kyle glanced at Dan. “But you sounded great. Honestly. I, I thought all of it was amazing.” Kyle felt Dan’s elbow against his side again, but this time it was a soft nudge, an unspoken acknowledgment. They continued to walk, taking brisk steps to the end of the block, but were forced to stop when the traffic light flashed from yellow to red. 

Dan bounced lightly on his heels in an attempt to stay warm and then looked down the street. Seeing that traffic was at a distance on either side, he glanced at Kyle, ”Right then, let’s make a break for it.”

“You want to just run through a red light… have you lost—“ Kyle began but dropped off as he watched Dan jog into the road. Having no choice but to follow him, Kyle jumped from the curb and ran after Dan. He met him stride for stride midway through the street. 

Dan caught his eye and then grinned. He increased his speed, leapt over the curb as he met it and kept on running. Kyle let out a breath of disbelief, Dan was the least competitive person on earth, why was he choosing this moment to challenge Kyle to a footrace? Kyle could only blame the mixture of the cold medicines Dan was on along with the amount of alcohol he consumed post show. “You’ve lost it. You are aware of that, yeah?”

“Worried that you can’t keep up?” Dan taunted. 

Despite himself, Kyle was a bit proud that Dan was talking shit and what’s more, that he was talking shit appropriately. He was about to reply when he realized that they had reached the end of the block and were faced with another red light. Dan stopped long enough to look right to left and then he burst into the street again. Reaching the other side of the road with Dan, Kyle bumped his shoulder against Dan’s and said without heat, “I’m more worried about you casually trying to throw our lives away, you great big lump. Give it a rest, won’t you? Not all of us are hopped up on whiskey and cold pills.”

To appease Kyle, Dan slowed to a walk. He was still fucking freezing and feeling slightly high on something a bit stronger than the satisfaction of getting through a performance he had been slightly dreading. “I’m so cold, I can’t feel my face,” he observed. 

“We’re almost there. Hopefully it won’t fall off in the next few,” Kyle replied. “If you’re really that worried about your face, I’m looking at it now and can assure you of its presence.” Kyle cut in front of Dan, forcing him to stop walking. In jest, Kyle reached out, put his hands on both sides of Dan’s face and lightly squeezed his cheeks. “See?” 

Dan met Kyle’s eyes and the humor in the moment shifted to something else entirely. 

“I, I…” Dan started and then trailed off. He looked away from Kyle, his thoughts tumbling in circles in his head. Dan looked back at Kyle and then moved towards him. He closed the slight distance between them and before either of them can say another word, Dan has his lips against Kyle’s. Dan knows that there’s a chance that he’s running through another red light and sees Kyle’s earlier words about throwing their lives away flash briefly across his mind in neon lights. 

Both notions slide away into nothing when Kyle kisses him back. 

Dan moved his hands up and grasped the lapels of Kyle’s coat, pulling him closer still. Dan felt a warmth spread through his body that reached the top of toes and he wondered how he had ever been cold.


End file.
